Living in Sterling, Connecticut: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 2.1% below the U.S. average in the parts of Connecticut outside metro areas.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Sterling itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town2 public schools. No public high school in town: the nearest is Plainfield High School, about 5 miles away.
A hospital close byDay Kimball Hospital in Putnam, about 15 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityProvidence is about 22 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Sterling meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $283,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 28%Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income: $102,695U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 81%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $4,551 a yearConnecticut: $6,643
Homes built before 1940: 21%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 6%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 97.9U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Connecticut outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 28% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Connecticut outside metro areas, not Sterling alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 3,7362020: 3,581
Median age: 39.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 13%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 18%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 3%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (19%); manufacturing (18%); construction (15%)
Unemployment rate: 7%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 35 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 12%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 8%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Day Kimball Hospital, Putnam, CT, about 15 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

2 public schools in Sterling, run by Sterling School District and Plainfield School District. The nearest public high school is Plainfield High School, about 5 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Connecticut's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Weather

January average low: 18°F
July average high: 85°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 22 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 135 a year
Rain and melted snow: 48.9 inches a year
Snow: 38 inches a year
Elevation: 347 feet

Weather stations: Coventry 2 (14 miles away) and Jewett City (7 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Day Kimball HospitalEmergency room15

Cranston, RICity of 85,00018

Providence, RIMetro of 1.7 million22

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Day Kimball Hospital, Cranston, Providence.

Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Sterling Hill Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Roger Williams National Memorial23 miles
Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park24 miles
New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park46 miles
Springfield Armory National Historic Site48 miles
New England National Scenic Trail53 miles

Read about Sterling's history on Wikipedia.

Know Sterling?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Plainfield, CT15,400 people, 4 miles
Foster, RI4,600 people, 7 miles
Voluntown, CT2,700 people, 8 miles
Killingly, CT18,200 people, 9 miles
Brooklyn, CT8,700 people, 9 miles
West Greenwich, RI6,800 people, 10 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.